Back in the Brazilian's Bed

Shaking his head, he disagreed. ‘What you do is personal. I don’t know the names of half the people helped by my foundation.’

She mulled that over for a moment, and then she said, ‘So can I add tours here to the youth programme?’

‘Over to you,’ he agreed with a shrug.

It was a great idea. Opening young minds to careers connected to gemstones was original and pure Karina. It was maybe the first step to finding that fairy dust of hers. He held out a chair, leaving her in no doubt that he wasn’t so distracted by her brainwave that he had forgotten why he’d brought her here. Her gaze darted to the door. He folded his arms and leaned back against the wall. Seeing there was no escape, she perched on the edge of the chair in fight or flight mode.

‘Dante—’

Chair legs scraping across the floor silenced her. He pulled up another seat and sat so their knees were almost touching.

Tension soared between them.

He let the silence hang until she said, ‘Okay. What more do you want to know?’

‘Everything,’ he suggested. ‘And, as you pointed out, the clock is ticking, and there’s a lot of work to do to get this cup organised.’

‘It isn’t that easy,’ she admitted. ‘Some things can’t be said quickly.’

‘What can’t you tell me? I can’t believe there’s anything worse than you’ve already told me.’ Leaning close, he took hold of her hands.

She drew them back and balled them tightly in her lap. ‘I can’t. You chose your path. I chose mine—’

‘That’s not enough.’ He stood.

She stood too, facing him defiantly. Anything was preferable, as far as he was concerned, to Karina in shutdown mode. ‘Tell me,’ he insisted fiercely.

The flash of pain behind her eyes said he was delving too deep, too fast, into places even she didn’t go, but he couldn’t let her go back into her shell now.

Emotion burned starkly in her white face. She knew there was nowhere to hide. She also knew he was the biggest client she’d ever have, and that her brother, not to mention the rest of the team, was depending on her to get this event right. She’d clawed her way to success, which was why people trusted her. He had to believe she wouldn’t let that trust go now.

‘Will you, please, let me out of here?’

He sensed she was holding herself tightly in check. ‘You can leave at any time.’ He recited the code for the door.

She sucked in a few tense breaths, and then she made the decision he had fully expected. ‘I’m not going anywhere, Dante, because you’re right, that would be far too easy for me—for both of us.’

If this were the time she finally unburdened herself, he’d take anything she had to throw at him. His pride, his concerns, his life counted for nothing while Karina was in torment. And she was in torment. When she lifted her chin he could see the pain in her eyes and he felt it as his own. He had to tamp down the urge to drag her close and tell her that everything would be all right, and that he would make it so, because that would be a lie. This was something Karina had to do for herself.

He clenched his hands into fists as she drew in a long shaking breath. The urge to reach out was overwhelming him. But he mustn’t touch her. He mustn’t speak. If he did anything to distract her, this moment would be lost, and then she would be lost.

Closing her eyes tightly shut in a failed attempt to hold back her tears, she said, ‘You do know if there’d been a child I would have told you?’

‘Of course I do.’

‘I was fine,’ she lied, hurrying to reassure him. ‘Life doesn’t grind to a halt when a tragedy happens, and it’s amazing how we find ways to cope.’

He clamped his lips shut as he raged against his inability to say anything that could make the slightest difference, and he felt even worse when she touched his arm as if it were he who needed comfort and reassurance.

‘I’m sorry, Dante. I’ve had longer to adjust than you have.’

But she hadn’t moved forward.

‘I promise you this won’t affect my work. I’ll give you everything I’ve got to make this the best polo cup there’s ever been.’

His brain was racing as he searched for a way to shake her back on track. He needed something that would shock her into leaving the business between them to one side for now. She was hiding something bad, and this was his best—maybe his only—chance to help her. He barely heard the rest, and there was no way he could dress this up. A shock was needed, and a shock was what he’d give her.